Paper short abstract:

This paper will discuss research I am currently undertaking with Aboriginal people in Victoria on culture today. I will explore the moral dimensions of conducting this research as well as some of the emerging themes.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will discuss my qualitative research with Aboriginal people across several locations in Victoria. The aim of which is to describe a range of meanings the term 'culture' holds for Aboriginal people today and how cultural values and practices are passed on to younger generations.

I am currently undertaking this research, which consists of interviews and participant observation at public events. I will explore the emerging themes in the research data of the relationships between identity, time and space; notions of similarity and difference; and the significance of everyday practices and expressions of culture. A focus on mundane culture can lead to uncomfortable interactions in which moralities are negotiated. I suggest that such encounters, which ethics processes seek to control, can provide valuable insight into the spaces between binaries such as continuity/change and similarity/difference.

I will also discuss the goal of this research, which is to be applicable to the field of native title as a resource for Aboriginal people in the more intensely urbanised areas of South-Eastern Australia to demonstrate the continuity of their rights and interests in land. This will include exploring the moral dimensions of conducting anthropological research with people keenly aware of the colonial entanglement of anthropologists and sceptical of our more recent roles in 'helping' and in judging cultural authenticity.